


If you like your coffee hot, let me be your coffee pot

by Vlindervin



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M, Tumblr Prompt, look another AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-25 04:10:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14370612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vlindervin/pseuds/Vlindervin
Summary: Every Thursday and Saturday, Nico di Angelo visits the coffee shops Will works at and every Thursday and Saturday Will turns into a pining idiot.





	If you like your coffee hot, let me be your coffee pot

Every Thursday and every Saturday, Will is pretty sure an angel visits the coffee shop he works at. Well, not an actual angel, but close enough. The guy, Nico, is quite possibly the most beautiful person Will has ever seen, with his dark hair, the kind of dark that reminds him of midnight and the feeling of being the only one awake in a sleeping house, with his warm skin. He always sits next to the window and sometimes, when the sun illuminates him the right way, Will is left in awe at the way his cheekbones seem to give him regal features and how red his lips are. 

Most of the time when he comes in, he’s focused on what seems to be his studies, scratching his pen at rapid speed. But other times, he wears headphones and looks at the people passing with a faraway look on his face. Very occasionally he brings people. A tall, blonde guy seems to be a pretty regular occurence. Other times it’ll be a pretty dark-skinned girl with dancing eyes or a woman who seems to wear the same air of royalty and misty mystery as the boy does. Obviously Will has no idea who these people are, but whoever they are, whenever they’re around, Nico seems to light up subtly and Will’s mood always improves when he sees him with the people he so obviously cares about. One other time, he’d brought a man who shared his exact bone structure and had the same way of holding himself. It didn’t take much to realize that was his father. He didn’t light up quite as bright that time. Their bond had seemed rather tense and Will had immediately felt concerned until the boy cracked a smile.

Besides the usual greetings and ‘how’re you?’s he doesn’t really know anything about him, though. So, maybe he is creepily obsessed like Lou Ellen calls it, but as long as he doesn’t hurt anyone, it’s fine, right? Nico’s just really, really cute. And it’s no secret that cute people are and have always been, Will’s weakness. Especially when they wear leather jackets. Especially when their lashes are long enough to paint with. Especially when they have the whole Italian thing going on. Yeah, Will’s fucked. 

Will knows Nico’s order. He always orders coffee, black, and then sits down at his table and adds three packs of sugar to his drink. It pains Will as a med student to see how much sugar he consumes on a weekly basis, but it’s not his place to judge considering he only drinks the disgustingly sweet drinks this place offers. He doesn’t know why he doesn’t just order something less gross than black coffee, as he clearly doesn’t take it for the taste. Maybe he doesn’t sleep and is always in need of energy, maybe it’s to preserve the bad-boy-wears-leather-jackets-and-dark-skinny-jeans-and-combat-boots-and-probably-owns-a-motorcycle look he has going on. He doesn’t know, as he doesn’t think it’s his place and he’d rather not Nico change coffee shops, but he does know that’s what he always takes.   
Another thing that is slowly killing Will is that Nico insists on saying his own name every time he orders his coffee and Will has to write it down, even though Will thinks he’s made it quite clear he knows his name by now. At first, he thought it meant that Nico didn’t remember him or something, despite Will making his coffee two times a week. He was, admittedly, a little disappointed, until he realized he did recognize him when one day Will had his back turned to him and Nico greeted him by saying: ‘Hey, Will.’ So apparently Nico just really likes torturing Will by saying his name every time Will has to write it on a cup, not that Will’s complaining. Nico’s name rolling over his own lips, never fails to make Will’s head spin. He has the barest hint of an accent when he talks and when he says his name, it’s even more obvious than when he says anything else. Italian, Will thinks, though he’s not sure. It sounds elegant and decadent. His voice is soft, but clear. God, Will is in way too deep. He’s in the middle of the ocean, sliding all the way down, way past appropriate depth. 

Today Nico comes in alone, headphones around his neck, hands buried in the pockets of his jacket. It’s nearing the end of Will’s shift, normally he’d be getting ready to go, but he supposes he can still fit in Nico before closing up. Will smiles when Nico arrives at the counter and gets a small smile back. Will already turns on the coffee machine, assuming Nico wants what he always wants. ‘Coffee, black?’

Nico smiles again and nods.

‘To drink here or take out?’

Nico bites his lip. Will thinks he looks a little nervous, but Nico isn’t easy to read so he might just be tired. ‘Umm, take-out?’

‘You don’t sound sure’, Will teases, but grabs a cup for take-out.

‘Shut up and make my coffee’, Nico answers, no bite in his voice. Will holds his hands up in surrender and does what he’s told. 

‘Want something else with that?’

‘Yes. Is there anything you’d recommend?’ For a second Will thinks it sounds a little flirty, but then he realizes it couldn’t be, seeing as there are two drinks, which probably just means Nico doesn’t know what the person he’s buying for wants. 

Will wonders who Nico is buying something else for. They’re probably waiting outside. He feels a weird sensation start in his belly that strangely feels a lot like jealousy and then he rolls his eyes at himself because really? How pathetic can you get?

‘Well, I’m not much for coffee, to be honest. Only when I have to pull an all-nighter or something.’

‘You work at a coffee shop and you don’t like coffee?’

Will shrugs. ‘It’s not _my_ shop. I just serve the drinks.’

‘Okay, something else then. Besides coffee.’ 

‘I usually take the strawberry milkshake. It’s really good.’

‘It’s seven in the evening.’

‘So? There are no rules when it comes to milkshakes.’

Nico looks at him as if he can’t decide between calling him an idiot or laughing. In the end he does neither, just shrugs and says: ‘And a strawberry milkshake then.’

‘Good choice’, Will says, before turning around and preparing the order. After two minutes he comes back with the two cardboard cups. He takes the black marker and looks at Nico expectantly. Apollo, the owner, insists on saying they invented the name on the cup system before Starbucks and that they stole it from him. It’s completely untrue, as Will is pretty sure Starbucks existed way before this shop, but that’s Apollo for you. Never mind that the name thing is completely unnecessary most of the time, but they servers are obligated to do it, anyway, seen as _it’s their brand_. 

‘Um, coffee for Nico. And the milkshake for uh,’, Nico licks his lips nervously ‘Will’, he finishes, so quiet Will can barely hear it.

Before, he realizes what’s going on, Will writes his own name down on the cup and sets it before them on the counter. Nico is looking at him with a nervous expression on his face, with a hint of confusion and hurt at the edges. It’s only when he takes in that expression, that Will realizes what’s going on. He feels his eyes widen and a blush creeping on his face. ‘ _Oh_.’

‘Yeah’, Nico answers with an eye roll, but he’s also smiling underneath the annoyed look on his face. Then he takes a breath, holds out the milkshake, looks Will in the eye and says: ‘Want to have coffee with me?’

Nico is asking him out. _Nico_ is _asking him out_. And all he can think to say is: ‘Like a date?’

Nico shrugs, but his cheeks are a little pink. ‘If you want.’

‘Yes!’, he exclaims, a little too loud, a little too fast. Nico smiles when he repeats, calmer this time. ‘Yes, I do.’

Nico nods, a smile lighting up his face, biting his lip. ‘Okay, okay. Umm’, he fumbles around the pocket of his jacket and takes out his wallet. ‘How much is that?’

‘It’s on the house’, Will says. 

‘The point of me asking you on a date, is that I pay for the coffee. Or milkshake in your case.’

‘Yeah, but I _work_ here. I’m not letting you pay for my drink _that I made myself_. That feels weird.’

Realizing he probably won’t win this, Nico puts away his wallet. ‘Fine, but I’m paying next time.’ 

Will tries not to smile too widely at the prospect of _next time_ , but fails. ‘Let me just grab my stuff and then I can close up. Okay?’

Nico nods, smiles once more at him and heads for his usual window seat, looking at Will as if saying _I’ll be right here_. 

Will does what he has to do as fast as he can. Puts his uniform away and pulls on a sweater over the light shirt he’s wearing. Tries to tame his hair to something that looks a little less like _I just spent a six hour shift working_ and more _I’m ready to go on a day with the boy I’ve been pining after for months_. He doesn’t really succeed, but well, at least he tried. And it’s not like Nico gave him any warning, so he can’t expect Will to look his best. Throwing one last look in the mirror in the back, he grabs his bag and makes his way back to Nico, grabbing the keys on his way there so he can close up the shop. Only, when he comes back out the back, he hears the rain before he sees it. It’s absolutely pouring. The kind of rain that has you soaking the moment you set one foot out the door. The kind of rain that’s only fun in the middle of summer after a hot day full of sunshine and sweat and heat. It’s not fun in the middle of november. 

He puts his bag down next to the chair opposite of Nico, who’s looking out the window with a look on his face that indicates he’s thinking the same thing as Will was just moments before. He looks up when Will sits down, his smile reappearing when he catches sight of him. 

‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen you out of your uniform.’

‘Then I’m lucky orange is my color, I guess.’

Nico lets out a little laugh. ‘I like you better in a sweater, though. Fits you better.’

‘Well, these are my _real_ clothes, after all.’ But he can’t keep the blush from growing. Nico complimenting him so openly is doing things to his stomach that are not entirely unpleasant. And to think that only half an hour before this he still thought Nico would forever be some kind of unattainable dream he only got to admire on his shift. ‘Mind if we take our date inside, instead of going out in that?’ 

‘My thoughts exactly.’

Will is not entirely sure if he’s allowed to use the shop for his own pleasure after he’s supposed to have closed up already, but who would ever find out? And even if they did, he doesn’t think Apollo would mind much.

So that’s what they do. They sit there, with the howling rain beating against the windows as background music. They start off with the basic questions, _What’s your major where did you grow up do you have any siblings?_

_Pre-med; Texas. Don’t make that face, it was alright most of the time. Austin’s pretty chill; about seven, but with my dad who can really tell?_

_Classics; right here in New York; Um, a sister, two actually, but --_

But they soon get caught up and start to feel so comfortable around each other, that the topics shift to heavier themes and they start to open up, quicker than usual. Nico admits to being quite closed-off most of the time, which doesn’t surprise Will seen as how quiet he seems. And Will, although he never really has any trouble talking to people, doesn’t trust that easily. But something about Nico, his dark serious eyes, looking into Will’s own, making him feel so incredibly at ease it’s actually a little ridiculous, makes Will want to spill all his secrets, share all his deepest thought, all his desires and dreams and aspirations. 

Before they know what’s happening, it’s gone from seven in the evening to nearing midnight and Will is woken up from this bubble by a text from Cecil asking if he’s _coming back tonight ;-)))_ not that Will makes it a habit to have one-night stands, but that’s just Cecil. He catches sight of the clock. At Will’s surprised expression, Nico asks if everything’s alright, no doubt thinking it has to do with the text.

‘Yeah, just my roommate asking where I am. I was just surprised ‘cause it’s 11:47 and… I was not expecting that’, he says, accompanying his words of an embarrassed laugh.

‘Shit’, is Nico’s reaction. ‘Is it that late already?’ 

On the table, their drinks have been finished for hours. Without them noticing, the rain had stopped, the streets had emptied out, the evening had turned into night. Will had let himself get sucked into Nico’s soft voice and his dry sense of humor, his words that were all said in way that they felt important, even when he wasn’t saying anything particularly heavy. He’d gotten lost in Nico’s eyes and the way his lips moved and how his accent shaped certain words so elegantly. He’d forgotten the world because Nico was _funny_ , he was smart, kind of a nerd and a passion lived inside him when he spoke of certain things. He was so much more than Will had imagined him to be. Maybe Will, along with the time, had failed to notice that he’d impossibly kind of fallen in love with Nico, a little more with every word he spoke and everytime he laughed, the sound more musical than anything Will had ever heard. 

He shakes his head, trying to come back to reality instead of living inside the sparkle in Nico’s eyes. ‘I should probably go, actually. I have class at eight tomorrow’, he manages to say, a hint of disappointment colouring his words. 

‘Yeah, probably’, Nico says, already getting up and inexplicably looking a little sad all of a sudden. 

‘Um, I had a really good time. The best I’ve had in a while, actually. So, maybe we could do this again?’

And with those words, the sad look on Nico’s face is lifted and is instead replaced by a warm glow burning in his eyes. ‘I’d like that. Um’, he looks around and finding what he’s looking for, grabs a napkin and a pen from inside his bag and scribbles down a series of digits and a word above. Then he hands it to Will and seems to hesitate for a second, before mumbling: ‘Well, bye, I guess. See you later, Will.’ And then he turns around and gets ready to disappear into the night.

‘Wait, Nico’, Will calls after him, before he loses the courage. He’s been looking at Nico’s lips all night, imagining what they’d feel like, taste like. First he figured it might be a little soon to kiss him, but the thought of Nico just leaving after all of that without getting to kiss him feels even more wrong. 

When Nico turns around at Will’s voice, he really hopes he’s not screwing things up by doing this and takes a step towards him until they’re almost nose to nose. He feels Nico’s breath quicken on his cheek when Will moves in closer, hesitating for a second, before closing his eyes and kissing him. 

It’s a sweet kiss, not much more than a soft press of lips, a exhale of breath against Nico’s cheek, Nico’s hand coming up to lay on Will’s cheek, Will’s hand on Nico’s neck. It’s over in a matter of seconds and when they part, Nico’s eyes are still closed, his lips are slightly parted, but there’s the faintest hint of a smile sleeping on them. He looks so fucking _beautiful_.

When he opens his eyes, he smiles a real smile at Will. Will smiles back. Then Nico licks his lips and comes closer again and kisses Will a little harder than before, a little more passionately, a little more intense, but it’s over as quickly as the first one was. 

‘Okay’, Nico says then, slightly out of breath. ‘You have class at eight, you should sleep.’

‘I don’t want to’, Will says, still dazed from the feeling of Nico’s soft touch. 

Nico laughs at his response, such a lovely sound. ‘Yeah, but I don’t want you to fall asleep in class tomorrow. You have my number.’

Will nods and then Nico’s gone. When he closes up after that, Will can’t stop smiling and when he gets back to his dorm his cheeks kind of hurt, but he does not care one bit. 

**

The next time Will serves Nico coffee, a day after their second date, he encases his name on the cup with three wobbly, little hearts. When Nico sees what Will’s drawn, he half-heartedly rolls his eyes, but he can’t deny the blush on his cheeks. After looking around to make sure no one’s watching, he leans over the counter and presses a quick kiss to Will’s cheek. Then he’s out the door with a wink now that Will’s the one blushing to the tip of his ears.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Catch me on Tumblr at Vlindervin if you wanna request something (warning: I'm slow) or if you just wanna talk or something idk  
> Kudos and comments keep me alive
> 
> Love, Jasmine


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